FIRE BLIGHT OF POME FRUITS AND SEARCH FOR RESISTANT OR TOLERANT CULTIVARS IN AMASYA AND TOKAT REGIONS IN TURKEY

Having a number of wild and local varieties of pears, apples and quinces, Amasya and Tokat have a great potential for the pome fruit production in Turkey.
Destructive bacterial fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora (Burr.) Winslow et al. was introduced by bringing honey bee hives from Samsun to Gökhöyük State Farm in Amasya in 1988. Since then infection has destroyed orchards of pears and quinces year by year with an increasing rate.
In 1997 the orchards of pome fruits in all the districts of Amasya except Gümüshaciköy and Hamamözü were infected with disease.
Despite of the late contamination to Tokat, orchards of pome fruits in the districts of Pazar, Turhal, Yesilyurt and Zile as well as Central district were infected with the total rate of 14.42% by the fire blight.
Standard commercial varieties of pears and quinces were determined much more susceptible to infection than wild local cultivars.
Especially late varieties of pears in Tokat area were noticedto be much more resistant to infection than others.
Among the apple varieties early commercial cultivars were determined more susceptible to the pathogen than the others.

VIII International Workshop on Fire Blight

A. Çitir, M. Mirik

Pomaceous trees, Regrafting, Migratory honey bee keepers

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1999.489.33